Performance enhancing underlayment, underlayment assembly, and method

Abstract

An underlayment for supplementing one or more physical properties of wall, ceiling, and floor construction components is used to in a wall, ceiling, or floor assembly that may be fabricated on site. The assembly includes: first and second wall, ceiling, or floor construction components which each have physical properties and an underlayment component which has at least one supplemental physical property for supplementing the physical properties of the first and second construction components. The construction components may or may not be secured together with the underlayment sandwiched between the second and first construction components to form a wall, ceiling, or floor assembly with the supplemental physical property or properties of the underlayment. The supplemental physical property or properties of the underlayment may include, but are not limited to, latent storage of thermal energy, sound transmission reduction, and/or burn through resistance.

1. An underlayment roll good for on-site application between wall, ceiling, and floor construction components, comprising:
 a flexible underlayment comprising a mat of glass fibers that is saturated with a phase change material, the phase change material being disposed about the exterior of the individual glass fibers and being configured to undergo a solid to liquid phase change between about 15° C. (about 60° F.) and about 27° C. (about 80° F.) to provide for a latent storage of thermal energy, wherein the fibrous mat is completely surrounded by and encased within a flexible polymeric film envelope that is impermeable to the phase change material in liquid form, the underlayment being configured to form a layered construction component/underlayment assembly with the underlayment located between the first and second construction components; the underlayment having a length, a width, and a thickness; the underlayment having first and second major surfaces that are each defined by the length and the width of the underlayment; the width of the underlayment being between about 1.5 feet and about 10 feet; the thickness of the underlayment being between about 0.015 inches and about 1 inch, wherein, the fiber density of the mat, the viscosity of the phase change material, the enclosure of the mat and phase change material within the flexible polymeric film envelope limit the migration of the phase change material within the flexible polymeric film envelope; and 
 the underlayment being in roll form. 
 
     
     
       2. The underlayment roll good according to  claim 1 , including:
 an adhesive on the first major surface of the underlayment for adhering the underlayment to a wall, ceiling, or floor construction component. 
 
     
     
       3. The underlayment roll good according to  claim 2 , wherein:
 the adhesive on the first major surface of the underlayment is a rewettable adhesive or a pressure sensitive adhesive with a release layer removably overlying the pressure sensitive adhesive to protect the pressure sensitive adhesive from degradation prior to application of the underlayment to a wall, ceiling, or floor board. 
 
     
     
       4. The underlayment roll good according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the underlayment comprises the phase change material encapsulated within and having an initial distribution throughout the flexible polymeric film envelope that is impermeable to the phase change material in liquid form and means within the polymeric film envelope to substantially keep the phase change material, when in liquid form, from migrating within the envelope so that the phase change material substantially retains the initial distribution within the envelope through repeated phase changes between solid and liquid form. 
 
     
     
       5. The underlayment roll good according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the underlayment includes a sound deadening material having a Young's Modulus between about 50 and about 500 pounds per square inch. 
 
     
     
       6. The underlayment roll good according to  claim 5 , wherein:
 the underlayment includes a burn through resistant material comprising by weight between about 30% and 50% mica flakes, between about 25% and 35% aramid fibers, and between about 25% and 35% aramid fiber binder. 
 
     
     
       7. The underlayment roll good according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the underlayment includes a burn through resistant material comprising by weight between about 30% and 50% mica flakes, between about 25% and 35% aramid fibers, and between about 25% and 35% aramid fiber binder. 
 
     
     
       8. The underlayment roll good according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the underlayment has a water vapor permeability of 5 perms or greater. 
 
     
     
       9. The underlayment roll good according to  claim 1 , further comprising a scrim reinforcement layer that provides strength and puncture resistance to the underlayment. 
     
     
       10. An underlayment roll good for on-site application between wall, ceiling, and floor construction components, comprising:
 a flexible underlayment comprising a polymeric foam material layer that contains microcapsules of a phase change material distributed roughly uniformly throughout the polymeric foam material layer, the microcapsules being between 5 mm and 10 mm in diameter and the phase change material being configured to undergo a solid to liquid phase change between about 15° C. (about 60° F.) and about 27° C. (about 80° F.) to provide for a latent storage of thermal energy, wherein the underlayment is configured to form a layered construction component/underlayment assembly with the underlayment located between the first and second construction components; the underlayment having a length, a width, and a thickness; the underlayment having first and second major surfaces that are each defined by the length and the width of the underlayment; the width of the underlayment being between about 1.5 feet and about 10 feet; the thickness of the underlayment being between about 0.015 inches and about 1 inch, wherein the polymeric foam material layer comprises by weight between about 40% and 60% microcapsules and between about 40% and 60% foam material; and 
 the underlayment being in roll form. 
 
     
     
       11. The underlayment roll good according to  claim 10 , further comprising a glass fiber scrim reinforcement layer. 
     
     
       12. An underlayment roll good for on-site application between wall, ceiling, and floor construction components, comprising:
 a flexible underlayment including a mat that is saturated with a phase change material that undergoes a solid to liquid phase change but not a liquid to gas phase change between about 15° C. (about 60° F.) and about 27° C. (about 80° F.) to provide for a latent storage of thermal energy, wherein the mat is completely surrounded by and encased within a flexible polymeric film envelope that is impermeable to the phase change material in liquid form, wherein the underlayment being configured for supplementing physical properties of first and second wall, ceiling, or floor construction components with which the underlayment is used to form a layered construction component/underlayment assembly with the underlayment located between the first and second construction components; the underlayment having a length, a width, and a thickness; the underlayment having first and second major surfaces that are each defined by the length and the width of the underlayment; the width of the underlayment being between about 1.5 feet and about 10 feet; the thickness of the underlayment being between about 0.015 inches and about 0.375 inches, wherein the flexible polymeric film envelope is made of coextruded polyethylene having three layers, wherein the middle layer comprises a higher temperature softening point than the outer layers such that the envelope is self sealing through the application of heat; 
 the phase change material of the underlayment having an initial distribution; and the underlayment and mat being configured to substantially keep the phase change material from migrating, when in liquid form, from the initial distribution of the phase change material so that the phase change material substantially retains the initial distribution through repeated phase changes between solid and liquid form regardless of the orientation of the underlayment; and 
 the underlayment being in roll form. 
 
     
     
       13. The underlayment roll good according to  claim 12 , wherein:
 the underlayment includes a rewettable adhesive on the first major surface of the underlayment for adhering the underlayment to a wall, ceiling, or floor construction component or a pressure sensitive adhesive on the first major surface of the underlayment for adhering the underlayment to a wall, ceiling, or floor construction component with a release layer removably overlying the pressure sensitive adhesive to protect the pressure sensitive adhesive from degradation prior to application of the underlayment. 
 
     
     
       14. The underlayment roll good according to  claim 12 , wherein:
 the underlayment includes a sound deadening material that provides a second supplemental physical property of sound transmission reduction. 
 
     
     
       15. The underlayment roll good according to  claim 14 , wherein:
 the underlayment includes a burn through resistant material that provides a third supplemental physical property of burn through resistance. 
 
     
     
       16. The underlayment roll good according to  claim 15 , wherein:
 the underlayment has a water vapor permeability of 5 perms or greater.